The Denver Zoo has welcomed two new Maned wolves that look a little bit like foxes.

Denver Zoo

Denver Zoo visitors will now notice a couple of new, young maned wolves in the Wolf Pack Woods exhibit. The two youngsters are now exploring the yard for the first time this weekend after arriving from other zoos. The energetic, red-haired pair is made up of male, Inigo, and female, Adrianna. Visitors can see them bounding about their area now, weather permitting.

Denver Zoo

Inigo comes from Texas' Abilene Zoo, where he was born in December 2011. Adrianna comes from Springfield, Missouri's Dickerson Park Zoo, but was born at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, near Glen Rose, Texas in February 2012. They both arrived at Denver Zoo this September and spent the last couple months behind-the-scenes clearing a mandatory quarantine period, getting to know their new home and each other.

Maned wolves resemble red foxes with long legs. Despite their reddish coloring and general appearance they are not related to foxes and despite their name, they are not members of the wolf family. The maned wolf is the largest wild dog of South America.

Is Cranbeary, the polar bear at the Denver Zoo pregnant? Well, maybe! Could a dog have the answer to that question? Well, yes, a beagle, named Elvis, might be able to help determine if a polar bear is pregnant!

Worldwide, traditional methods of pregnancy detection, such as progesterone monitoring and ultrasound examination, are not effective at diagnosing pregnancy in polar bears. So scientists at Cincinnati Zoo's Center for Conservation & Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) have gotten creative. In collaboration with professional dog trainer, Matt Skogen, owner of Iron Heart High Performance Working Dogs and a beagle named Elvis, CREW is trying to determine if the sensitive noses of canines can distinguish a pregnant polar bear from a non-pregnant bear simply by smelling fecal samples.

Photo Credit: Cincinnati Zoo, Elvis

Over the next two weeks, Elvis will be testing and double-testing samples to come up with predictions for this cubbing season.